The research unit TIDOP (Higher Polytecnic School of Avila) was visited by the provincial government of Avila

On March 20 Jesús Manuel Sánchez Cabrera, the provincial government of Ávila, and María Dolores Calvo, from the Rector´s Cabinet office of the University of Salamanca, visited the TIDOP research group.

During this visit, Diego González Aguilera, Head ofTIDOPResearch Group, showed the different research lines addressed by the multidisciplinary research team. Lines that range from aerospace engineering to renewable energy or road maintenance.

After the visit, Jesús Manuel Sánchez Cabrera made a statement to the press in which he showed his proud about the potential of this research group from Ávila which national and international prestige. In the same way, María Dolores Calvo manifested her commitment to the campus of Ávila.

The TIDOP research group from Higher Polytechnic School of Ávila develops a prototype for the analysis of latest generation materials

The SICMES project (photogrammetric system for the mechanical characterization of industrial solutions and materials) comes to an end. The project, which lasted 12 months, was developed by the TIDOP research group and financed by the “Proof of Concept” call of the General Foundation of the University of Salamanca. After its development, a low cost and flexible prototype has been developed able to analyze the deformations suffered by materials of latest generation without maintaining any contact with them (in contrast to the current techniques that need contact with the material yielding imprecise results when there are large deformations). The analysis of these deformations allows engineers to have a valuable and accurate source of information with which to optimize their designs and therefore, lower manufacturing costs. The prototype consists of two SLR cameras with macro lenses, a light source and an electrical coordination system.

Figura 1: To the left a traditional extinguisher and a new extinguisher concept made in kevlar and; to the right the results obtained during the evaluation of the new concept within the framework of the SICMES project.

The quality and robustness of the prototype has been supported through the analysis of new extinguishers made with the latest generation composite materials.

Last November 23, David Hernández López, from the TIDOP research group, exposed part of recent works carried in the cave “Cueva Pintada” of Galdar, Gran Canaria.

Around 30 assistants attended the III Research Seminar of the cave “Cueva Pintada” of Galdar in Gran Canaria. In the event, the researcher David Hernández López presented the results corresponding to the virtual digitization of the cave taken at the end of 2015. The digitalization consisted in the generation of a precise 3D model of high resolution through the use of different geomatic techniques such as laser scanning (phase-shift and triangulation) and photogrammetry. The combination of all the sensors used allowed to obtain a 3D model of each of the corners of the cave with millimetric precision and resolution.

In addition to this digitalization, a virtual visit through high resolution immersive panoramas was generated. This virtual visit tour was connected to the 3D model of the cave with, so that a very valuable and useful tool was obtained not only for tourists but also for professionals and researchers working in the cave.

These research works are part of the SIDAP project (Integral Archaeological and Heritage Documentation System).

The HeritageCARE research project, in which the TIDOP research group (University of Salamanca) participates, will be part of the 2018 European Cultural Heritage program.

Under the motto “Our heritage: where the past meets the future” the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage initiative aims to encourage people to discover the tangible and intangible Europe´s heritage and take on a commitment to preserve it. To this end, the exchange and appreciation of cultural heritage, awareness of history and common values ​​and the feeling of belonging to a common European area will be encouraged. The initiative will have the support and participation of all EU Member States as well as entities and research projects that promote heritage in Europe. Within these projects is the HeritageCARE project, which aims to implement a system of preventive conservation for the heritage of the SUDOE region (Spain, Portugal and southern France). Among the priorities of this project are the creation of a non-profit entity as well as a management system that will exploit the latest technological advances.

The use of infrared thermography as a widely tested technique for building inspection and location of pathologies such as air leakage and moisture allows the performance of quality “in-situ” visual examination of the objects under study due to the possibility of obtaining real-time results, being able to detect without difficulty damages or material characteristics. This qualitative measurement technique provides the capability of doing quick, effective and non-destructive inspection without direct contact with the object under study, decreasing the risk of incidents to operators and the damage of the objects comparing with other intrusive techniques. Furthermore, the utility of infrared thermography as a measurement technique has been proved by its use for the determination of the thermophysical properties of materials such as diffusivity and thermal transmittance.

In the qualitative approach, some authors have performed in-situ studies, mainly in historical buildings or cultural heritage elements, whereas quantitative studies are performed mainly in laboratories with limited size samples. In those cases where quantitative thermography studies were performed in-situ, temperature values were employed in order to obtain the real thermophysical properties (thermal conductance) of the building envelope, but their spatial distribution is not considered.

Combine both applications will enable the automation of the heat loss computation from the measured temperatures with a thermographic camera. Thus, the thermography is not only used to represent the state of the wall, but also temperature values represented on the thermography for extracting the metric parameters of the study object so the hybridization of the thermographic information with precise cartographic material would allow to extract the actual geometry of the object of study with thermal texture, being able to make accurate measurements of the elements of interest directly on the obtained results.

Studies such as the one published by EuroACE in 2010, places improved energy efficiency in building construction at the top of the list of actions that need to be taken to reduce greenhouse gases and energy costs, in addition to acting as a stimulus to generate employment. In particular is the case of existing buildings stock, most of which dates back to the period 1940-80, constructed using non-existent standards and scarce resources. Here, energy refurbishment works could represent a saving of up to 75% in energy consumption. In Spain there are 13 million homes that could be the subject of intervention, where energy refurbishment could result in a reduction in sector emissions of 34% compared to 2001.

In urbanized Western Europe trees are considered an important component of the built-up environment. This also means that there is an increasing demand for tree inventories. Laser mobile mapping systems provide an efficient and accurate way to sample the 3D road surrounding including notable roadside trees. In this research line, a processing chain aiming at the extraction of tree locations and tree sizes from laser mobile mapping data is reached.

Vegetation extraction

Tree parameter extraction

Such steps, in combination with code optimization are expected to be sufficient to reach the final goal of automatized estimation of features sampled by mobile mapping at a rate that matches the acquisition speed and at a quality that matches the result of a human operator.

An Archaeology graduate having studied in the Complutense University of Madrid, he is currently finishing his Master’s degree in Quaternary Archaeology and Human Evolution in the University Rovira I Virgili, Tarragona. Starting next academic year, he intends to continue his professional career by enrolling in a Doctoral programme in prehistory. Specialised in the field of taphonomy, he works primarily on the microscopic study of osteological materials found in archaeological and paleontological sites. His main field of research lies in the development of new methods for the study of Lower Pleistocene sites in Africa. Over the last couple of years, he has focused his research on the adaptation of new statistical advances from other fields of research, such as Artificial Intelligence, with the hope of finding new means of applying these techniques to the prehistoric fossil register. Through this line of research, he has achieved the development of Machine and Deep Learning algorithms for the processing of 3D data. His most notable advances have included the development of Artificial Neural Networks and Support Vector Machines for the differentiation of carnivore activity through the tooth marks animals may leave on bone. He has also achieved models that are able to successfully classify microscopic traces, discerning between natural agents and those produced by ancient hominids in prehistoric butchery practices.

Research lines:

Taphonomy and zooarchaeology applied to the Lower Pleistocene

Development of new methodological approaches for the study of fossil remains

Design and application of new statistical models for archaeological studies, including 3D modelling for the documentation of bone, and the use of Artificial Intelligence algorithms for the processing of this data

Land drones applied to three-dimensional modeling and control of complex industrial environments

Land drones can be armed with different devices such as terrestrial laser scanner, obstacle detectors or remote control systems, in order to provide accurate 3D models of unattended or critical environments in a safe way.

Environments like narrow caves that are difficult to access, electrical substations where there are risk of electric shock, boiler rooms or buildings with structural problems are considered critical environments for human operators due to the danger they entail.

Despite being critical spaces, its maintenance, inspection and control are essential to prevent damages and detect breakdowns, so accurate three-dimensional models are indispensable. For this purpose, terrestrial drones allow the integration of terrestrial laser scanners to capture the environment, as well as obstacle detectors and different communication systems, so that they can be autonomous vehicles or remote-controlled vehicles.

Depending on the accuracy needed and the dimensions of the study case, two different combinations of technologies have been explored, both combining laser scanner with land drones.

To complete this research line, we are working in different methodologies to combine 3D models obtained with land drones and data obtained with aerial drones equipped with conventional cameras or thermo graphic cameras.

Mix both kind of models make the three-dimensional model much more complete and it is possible to detect pathologies in almost everywhere. Some of this process has been used with success in electrical substations and photovoltaic solar plants, detecting, for example, anomalies in some panels.

Titled the first of his promotion as Senior Technician in Telecommunications and Computer Systems in 2018 by the IES Vasco de la Zarza. He obtained the Cisco degree “CCNA Routing and Switching” with a letter of recommendation from the Cisco CEO thanks to his skills and knowledge shown in the field of computer networks with Cisco equipment. Currently he is studying a Superior Degree Formative Cycle in Multiplatform Applications Development at the IES Alonso de Madrigal, focusing on the programming and development of computer applications.